People living in and around the village of Kinloch Rannoch are to appeal to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon to intervene following Tayside Health Board's decision yesterday not to restore their local out-of-hours GP provision.

People living in and around the village of Kinloch Rannoch are to appeal to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon to intervene following Tayside Health Board's decision yesterday not to restore their local out-of-hours GP provision.

The community of 600 in Highland Perthshire fear for the future in an area covering 250 square miles but served only by B-class roads.

NHS 24's nearest GP presence alternates between Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, both more than 20 miles away. They are not persuaded by the health authority's proposal to introduce instead an "emergency response" provided by a roster of volunteers.

The Kinloch Rannoch community has fought hard to keep its GP cover. It was the first in the UK to ask an NHS appeals panel to rule against its GP being able to opt out in 2006, but was unsuccessful.

When that GP retired earlier this year, residents hoped the replacement appointed by the health board would reinstate out-of-hours cover. Indeed, when the job was advertised it was included as a "core component".

But the authority accepted the application from the Aberfeldy practice to operate the surgery in Kinloch Rannoch, despite Aberfeldy having already opted out.

Dick Barbor-Might, one of the community representatives who attended yesterday's meeting, said: "We were deeply disappointed by the health board's decision.

"We had asked for more time to be given, not least because the costings had been wildly exaggerated.

"Now the community will be writing to Ms Sturgeon and her minister Shona Robison, to look at the health authority's handling of the issue."

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: "The people of Kinloch Rannoch should be assured that there will be no change to the existing out-of-hours health services and they will continue, as they do at the moment, to have access to a GP and other primary care services out of hours."